November 30, 2020
Posted in: This Week in Music History
On November 30th, 1979, Pink Floyd released their eleventh studio album, The Wall. The Wall has become known as one of the best concept albums of all time. It’s a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rockstar whose “wall” represents his eventual self-imposed isolation from society. Roger Waters modeled the character of “Pink” after himself and former bandmate Syd Barrett. He conceived the idea of the album while on Pink Floyd’s 1977 In The Flesh tour, a tour he hated because he felt the audience wasn’t listening and that they were too far away to see the band. He said: “It became a social event rather than a more controlled and ordinary relationship between musicians and an audience.” On the final date of the tour, a group of noisy fans near the stage irritated Waters so much that he spat on one of them. That night, Rogers articulated his desire to isolate himself by constructing a wall across the stage separating the band and the audience. Thus, The Wall was written. With over 30 million copies sold, it is the second best-selling album in the band’s catalogue (behind The Dark Side of the Moon) and one of the best-selling albums of all time.
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Tags: Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, Syd Barrett, The Wall, This Week in Music History